More on Defense & National Security

Washington—Yesterday, at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2) questioned Secretary of State John Kerry, Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey, and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel about the situation in Syria. Courtney highlighted the merits of an international response to the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, rather than a unilateral action by the United States. Click here to watch the video.

Norwich—Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2) announced that Mystic Seaport will receive a competitive matching grant of $80,343 through the Museums for America program to help fund a project to digitally catalog nearly 5,000 historical objects, documents, and photographs. The selected artifacts will be incorporated into an online learning project for students and teachers, as well as programming related to the recent launch and planned 2014 voyage of Mystic Seaport’s flagship, the Charles W. Morgan.

Washington—Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2) released the following statement on Syria:

“Last night, the administration took a good first step in crafting the U.S. reaction to the events in Syria by briefing Congressional leaders. While a course of action is still being formulated, I am pleased to hear that the administration is not considering any ground invasion or open-ended military commitment. After ten years and two wars in the Middle East, any indefinite commitment of our military forces is an unacceptable option.

WASHINGTON--Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2) released the following statement after Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that furloughs for civilian Defense Department employees will be reduced from 11 days to six. Furloughs went into effect on July 8 after sequestration forced the Defense Department to make deep cuts to their FY13 budget.